Three-time Stanley Cup winner admits to turning down a mega deal with a Canadian team in 2009

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Mike Armenti
August 5, 2023 (11:31)

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Hall of Famer Marian Hossa had an incredible NHL career that saw him hoist the Stanley Cup three times as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, 2013 and 2015. However, before he signed with the Blackhawks, Hossa spent a season with the Detroit Red Wings, who inked the Slovak to a one-year contract at just shy of $8M.

On a recent episode of the Spittin' Chiclets podcast, Hossa said that he turned down a massive eight-year contract from the Edmonton Oilers to sign a one-year deal with Detroit.

"I knew I can learn. What is the success in that dressing room, you know? Why are they so good? I want to be finding out more." Hossa said about the Red Wings, who were coming off a Stanley Cup win in 2008.

He went on to add, "I don't care that it's for one year. They offered me like eight years in Edmonton, you know, for crazy money, my agent told me. I said 'I don't care, I want to go there (Detroit)."

While with the Red Wings, Hossa would return to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season. But for the second year in a row, he was on the losing side of the battle. Thankfully for Hossa, he wasn't left without a Stanley Cup on his resume for very long. In the summer of 2009, he signed a whopping 12-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks and hoisted hockey's holy grail in his first season with the Hawks.

Meanwhile, for the Edmonton Oilers, losing out on signing a big name like Marian Hossa hurt them badly. Their playoff drought continued and held the first overall pick four times, drafting Taylor Hall in 2010, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in 2011, Nail Yakupov in 2012 and Connor McDavid in 2015. The rest, as they say, is history.